LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE

What does it mean to

live a spiritual life? Well, everyone is actually living a spiritual life, whether they know it
or not. Just the fact that one is incarnated in this lifetime means you are a soul who
came here to learn and evolve – some consciously, some not.
To be spiritually aware or awakened means you are conscious, but not necessarily
superior to anyone else. It simply means that you are highly conscious and maybe even
metaphysically gifted. This does not ensure, however, that you are living at your full
potential, or that you don’t have a secret life, such as, but not limited to, abusing
substances, including food, to get ‘high.’ Neither does it guarantee that you are not
lacking in integrity, or hiding your true emotions to appear more successful or
enlightened.
Some of the most incredible people I have met were very ordinary people, while some
of the most devious and fake people I have met are considered leaders and icons. Just
like being a priest, school counselor or daycare worker is no guarantee that you are not
a pedophile, declaring yourself to be spiritually awakened, a religious devotee, a yoga
expert, or a gifted psychic medium, does not guarantee that you have integrity or
ethics. Claiming a title or label is simply that: claiming a title. It is much like some used
car sales people making their claims regarding reliability!
Performing empty rituals by rote, or with little energy or dedication, is also not a gateway
to true spirituality. That is more akin to dogmatic religion – mindlessly going to church or
temple, and doing religious things by rote just to feel good, but it does not inherently
mean you are doing any real good for others, or even yourself.
Real values can have meaning to man only when he steps on to the spiritual path,
a path where negative emotions have no use ~ Sai Baba
A spiritual life means living in a deep committed relationship with your Self, and with
Source. It is an ever-changing dance of evolution and deepening love with your Sacred
Self, your divine journey, and with your living connection with Source.
This connection with Spirit is not only different for each person; it is also different for in
each stage of our life. It is more of an energy, rather than defining actions you may or
may not take. Living a spiritual life means there is a background focus running all the
time. Underneath all your actions and choices you will find yourself checking in
with you and your connection.
Over time this becomes a subtle, yet pervasive habit. You are no longer trying to control
your path or even your choices. Instead you are checking your connection to Self,
Higher Self, and Source, the Sacred Triad. Keeping this focus on your ‘connectedness’
means you do the footwork, and you let go of the results.
This is not a new concept. It is in fact a major premise of every 12-Step program. You
work on self-care, so you will have more to give to others, in a way that will not be co-
dependent, nor will it knock you off your center. Meanwhile you keep an eye on the
acronym HALT: hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. This ensures that you will not be
reactive and you will not lose your connection, your relationship to your Self or to
Source, or fall into self-destructive behaviors.
Living a spiritual life means you take action, but action from guidance, and remain more
committed to the connection to guidance than achieving your outcome. Everything you
do becomes an act of learning and evolving, while your heart remains open. None of
this is perfect. It is all a matter of doing the best you can in each situation. Perfection is
the effort, the intention, of staying connected, using self–care for your Sacred Self, and
following guidance, without labeling things as ‘mistakes,’ but rather learnings.
Spiritual opening is not a withdrawal to some imagined realm or safe cave. It is not
a pulling away, but a touching of all the experience of life with wisdom and with a
heart of kindness, without any separation ~ Jack Kornfield
It takes work to stay centered, to keep your focus and not spin out, at least not for very
long. Self-care is like being married to yourself, or like having a beloved child that you
care for. It is much easier to get high, go shopping, obsess, or choose the many other
options for becoming distracted or self-destructive.
Spirituality is a relationship, a lifestyle, not a workshop. It is something to be practiced,
pursued, and prioritized when making choices. It is not a what, it is a how. It is a
process, not an outcome. It is also not a career (although sometimes it is, but first
observe those ‘spiritual career’ folks and see how they are really living their life).
The key to a process is to enjoy it all. It is all about the journey, a beautiful and
challenging trail, not a location or destination that you travel to quickly, stay for a bit, and
then go back home.
If you choose the spiritual life, you will be shown magic. You will live more in the unseen
world of energy – unseen, but acutely felt. Your intuition soars. Inter-dimensional
experiences become normal. Your healing powers bloom. These are all the rewarding
side-effects granted to those who pursue a life of awakened cultivation. But these gifts
are not the goal. You become so committed to the path, that you lose the desire to ‘be
amazing,’ have superpowers or impress others. Life itself becomes a superpower, and
your path becomes the only way. Everything else is given to you and you are open and
strong enough to receive. You stop chasing the glory.
Qualities like love and compassion are not just abstract virtues that are the
property of saints and adepts. Anyone can develop these qualities in themselves
by doing spiritual practices ~ Joanna Macy
The glorious part of living an authentic spiritual life is the richness of each day. Living a
spiritual life means you look at life differently. You have a special perspective that colors
all your choices, and your priorities are based on energy and guidance, working in
combination with real life skills. Your internal life becomes an amazing tapestry of
energy flow, visionary messages, subtle inner guidance and inspiration, and the
processing of the richness of each experience: tasting food, looking into the eyes of a
beloved pet, the thrill of the kiss of a loved one.
Spiritual living is the excitement and anticipation of learning, the beauty of grief, the rush
of passionate anger, the fear of trying something new, and perhaps failing. In a nutshell,
it is to deeply experience all of the emotions given to you to use, learn and enjoy as you
journey through this incarnation.